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Decisions on Designation of Properties as National Monuments

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60th session - Decisions

Firduz cemetery, the burial ground

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Status of monument -> National monument

            Pursuant to Article V Para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 Para 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 6 to 10 July 2004 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

            The sepulchral ensemble of the Firdus mezaristan (burial ground) in Livno is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

            The National Monument is located on cadastral plots no. 3/124 and 3/125, Land Register entry no. 1161, cadastral municipality Livno, Livno municipality, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

            The provisions relating to protection measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH nos. 2/02, 27/02 and 6/04) shall apply to the National Monument.

 

II

 

            The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for ensuring the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve, restore and display the National Monument.

            The Commission to Preserve the National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboard with the basic data on the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

 

III

 

            In order to ensure the on-going protection of the property, the following measures are hereby stipulated in relation to the site defined in Clause I para. 2 of this Decision:

Ÿ  all works on the National Monument as whole or on any of its parts are prohibited other than archaeological research works and conservation and restoration works, with the approval of the Federal ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Ÿ  the nišan tombstones shall be located and those that have fallen shall be re-erected,

Ÿ  broken sarcophagi shall be repaired,

Ÿ  fragments of nišan tombstones lying in the burial ground shall be inspected and suitably displayed within the sepulchral ensemble,

Ÿ  the burial ground shall be set in order,

Ÿ  arrangements shall be made to ensure that the burial ground is kept maintained,

Ÿ  the dumping of waste is prohibited,

Ÿ  the kiosk erected in the burial ground shall be removed.

 

IV

 

            All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.

 

V

 

            Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardise the protection thereof.

VI

 

            The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning, the Federation heritage protection authority, and the municipal authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to V of this Decision, and the authorised Municipal Court shall be notified for the purpose of registration in the Land Register.

 

VII

 

            The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba).

 

VIII

 

            Pursuant to Article V, Para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.

 

IX

 

            On the date of adoption of this Decision, the National Monument shall be deleted from the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02, Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 79/02, Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH no. 59/02, and Official Gazette of Brčko District BiH no. 4/03), where it featured under serial no. 335.

 

X

 

            This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the Official Gazette of BiH.

 

           

            This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.

 

No: 02-02-189/04-3

6 July 2004

Sarajevo

Chair of the Commission

Dubravko Lovrenović

  

E l u c i d a t i o n

 

I – INTRODUCTION

           

            Pursuant to Article 2, Para 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the general Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a "National Monument" is a property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and properties entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on their status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.

            The Commission issued a Decision to add the Firduz burial ground in Livno to the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina numbered as 335.

            Pursuant to the provisions of the Law, the Commission proceeded to carry out the procedure for reaching a final decision to designate the Property as a National Monument, pursuant to Article V of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

 

II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION

 

            In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:

• Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc.

• Land registry entry and proof of title

• Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.

 

            The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the property are as follows:

 

1. Details of the property

Location

            The Firdusbeg mezaristan (burial ground) is located in the very centre of Livno, on the right bank of the river Bistrica, about a hundred metres from the source of the river. There is now a road between the river and the mezaristan, linking the mahala (residential quarter) on the right bank of the river with the main road in Livno.

            The National Monument is located on cadastral plots nos. 3/124 and 3/125, Land Registry entry no. 1161, Livno, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Historical information

            The oldest nisan (tombstone) in the mezaristan is that of of Ahmed-bey kapetan (captain), son of Ahmed-bey kapetan, son of Firdus-bey who died in 1188 AH (1774/75). This and other tombstones indicate that it was mainly members of the Firdus family who were buried here. The burial ground was named after them.

            The old manor of the Firdus beys was situated in the area of Hlivno, which is now known as Rajčevac(1).

            In the mid 18th century the Firdus family became lords of Hlivno and Hlivno County. They were captains until 1835, and during that period often held the rank of muselim (the representative of the Vizier in larger towns). The first Hlivno captain from this family was Ahmed-bey, who was killed in Hlivno during one of the insurrections, but his tombstone has not been found in this burial ground. His son and heir Ahmed-bey was the second captain of Hlivno and his tombstone is the oldest tombstone found here during an inspection to ascertain the condition of the burial ground, conducted in June 2004.

 

2. Description of the property

            Many of the tombstones of this mezaristan have been destroyed, but those that survive indicate this burial ground had the most decorative tombstones not just in Livno, but in Bosnia as a whole. It is characterized in particular by its many tall, moulded and decorated grave surrounds (known as santrač) and sarcophagi, with massive decorated tombstones and tarihs (epitaphs) that are very delicate, considering the material they were made of: miljevina limestone. This all suggests that they were made by highly skilled stonemasons with an advanced knowledge of art.  As regards the arrangement and appearance of the tombstones and the people whose graves they mark, the burial ground consists of three separate groups.  The most decorative tombstones are to the north of the burial ground, which is where members of the Firdus family were buried.  Several more recent tombstones stand in the central area of the burial ground.  Tombstones not belonging to the Firdus family are located on the south of the burial ground.

Mezar (grave) no. 1

            The headstone is 165 cm high, octagonal in shape with the sides of the octagon measuring 14 and 12 cm, terminating in a point, and standing on a square base measuring 32 x 32 cm with a height of 38 cm. The footstone is of the same shape and size, except for its lesser height of 153 cm.

            The text of the tarih on the headstone is in delicate Arabic script most closely resembling the naskh script, in the Turkish language. It reads as follows:

هو الخلاق الباقى ارجعى الى ربك نداسنه دار فنادن دار بقايه رحلت ايدن اهلونه لي ...... كلشن سرايه مقلم اعلايه جنت شراب نوش ايدن نصيب ايله روحيجون الفاتحه سنه 1294

"He is the Eternal Creator. Responding to the call "Return to your Lord", [.........] of Livno passed on from the transitory abode to the eternal abode May the nectar of the gardens of sublime paradise be his. Fatiha for his soul. 1294." (1877/88).

            The tarih (epitaph) is damaged where the name of deceased would have been inscribed.

Grave no. 2

            This is a man’s tombstone with a folded turban, 120 cm high, of roughly octagonal shape with sides measuring 32 and 8 cm. The turban is 190 cm in circumferance with a 17 cm high mudževez [Trans: unable to find this word as such in dictionaries including Škaljić’s Turcizmi; my Persian dictionary gives “mujahiz: authority”, ditto Urdu dictionary, deriving from Arabic triliteral root j-w-z, to be permissible etc.]. The footstone is 160 cm high, octagonal in shape with sides of 30 and 8 cm. The grave has a stone santrač surround, measuring 220 x 110 cm.   The left-hand side of the headstone has an incised sword, and the front has a niche with the tarih in Turkish prose in fine Arabic thuluth script.

هو الخلاق الباقى ارجعى الى ربك نداسنه دار فنادن دار بقايه رحلت ايدن اهلونه لي محارم اسباحك زايم كلشن سرايه مقلم اعلايه جنت شراب نوش ايدن نصيب ايله سنه 1294  

"He is the Eternal Creator. Responding to the call "Return to your Lord", Muharem Spahić of Livno, zaim [scholar], passed on from the transitory abode to the eternal abode May the nectar of the gardens of sublime paradise be his. Fatiha for his soul. 1294." (1877/88)

Grave no. 3

            The headstone is 140 cm high, octagonal in section with sides of 18,5 and 12 cm, coming to a point at the top. The footstone is of the same shape, but slightly shorter at 120 cm, and with the sides of the octagon measuring 21 and 11 cm.

            There is no tarih (inscription) on the tombstones.

Grave no. 4

            This grave has no headstone. The footstone is 93 cm high, of octagonal section with sides of 30 and 7 cm. The grave is surrounded by a high stone santrač moulded at the top. The stone slabs of the santrač are 50 cm high and 200 and 50 cm long.

Grave no. 5

            The headstone is 85 cm high, square in section measuring 17x17 cm, with a folded turban. The footstone is 46 cm high, square in section measuring 16 x 16 cm. There are no epitaphs on the tombstones.

Grave no. 6

            This grave has a footstone only, 102 cm high and rectangular in section, measuring 19 x 16 cm.

Grave no. 7

            This grave has a headstone with a “decapitated” turban, leaving it 95 cm high, of square section measuring 25 x 25 cm. The footstone is 125 cm high, of octagonal section with sides of 15 and 7 cm. The grave is surrounded by a stone santrač. There are no epitaphs on the tombstones.

Grave no. 8

            The headstone topped by a woman’s cap is 96 cm high, and square in section measuring 21 x 21 cm. The footstone has fallen to the ground. The grave is surrounded by a stone santrač. The headstone bears a finely incised epitaph in very small Arabic thuluth script, but damaged and barely legible.  The decipherable part reads as follows:

هو الخلاق الباقي .............. سنه الف و ماتين و سبعين و تسعه سنه 1279

"He is Eternal Creator.......... One thousand two hundred seventy and nine. 1279." (1862/63)

Grave no. 9

            A man’s headstone with folded turban, 45 cm high, and of rectangular section measuring 18 x 14 cm. The tombstone is partly sunken into the ground. At the top of the rectangular base of the tombstone is an incised zigzag line that might indicate the deceased was a Hajji. There is no footstone.

Grave no. 10

            The grave has only the remnants of the headstone, which was of square section measuring 16 x 16 cm.

Grave no. 11

            Like tombstone no.10, this grave has only a headstone with a broken turban. The remnants of the tombstone of rectangular section measuring 19 x 10 cm are sunken into the ground.

Grave no. 12

            The grave is surrounded by a santrač, and has a headstone measuring 100 x 20 x 20 cm, and a fez with the following epitaph:

"This is the kabur [grave] of Mujo Španjo, died 1950."

Grave no. 13

            A grave with a man’s tombstone measuring 100 x21 x 21 cm, with a fez, damaged at the front where the epitaph should be and surrounded by a stone santrač.

Grave no. 14

            A grave with a man’s tombstone measuring 93 x 19 x 19 cm, with a fez, damaged at the front where the epitaph should be and surrounded by a stone santrač.

            Graves 12, 13 and 14 are of quite recent date.

Grave no. 15

            Modern vault with the epitaph "Grave of Borić Fehim, died 1945."

Grave no. 16

            All that is to be seen on this grave are the remnants of a tall stone santrač. There is no sign of the tombstones that used to be on this grave.

Grave no. 17

            A double grave surrounded by a stone santrač, 230 x 210 cm, 50 cm high. Some of the sides of the stone santrač have fallen to the ground. There is no sign of the tombstones that used to be on this grave.

Grave no. 18

            All that is to be seen on this grave are the remnants of a tall stone santrač. The grave is in a ruinous state and has no tombstones.

Grave no. 19

            A grave with a richly decorated tall stone santrač. On both the left-hand and the right- stone slabs of the santrač, measuring 270 x 71 cm, are three skilfully carved pillars supporting the upper moulded edge of the santrač. There are three incised vases of flowers between the pillars. The front and rear slabs of the santrač, measuring 107 x 70 cm, are decorated in the same way. As there are no tombstones on the grave it is not known whose grave it might be.

Grave no. 20

            A grave with the remnants of the tall stone santrač that used to surround this grave. There is no headstone, and the footstone has fallen to the ground.

Grave no. 21

            This grave, surrounded by a tall stone santrač, has a headstone of square section measuring 17 x 17 cm, with a separate turban, 70 cm high. There is no footstone. The epitaph on the headstone is in Arabic in the naskh script, and is damaged in part. The epitaph shows that this is the oldest dated tombstone in the mezaristan (burial ground) and the only one which can be identified with certainty as belonging to one of the Livno captains:

هو الخلاق الباقي المرحوم و المغفور الي رحمة ربه الغفار ... احمد قبودان بن احمد قبودان بن فردوس بك روح ايجون الفاتحة  سنة 1188   

 "He is Eternal Creator. Pardoned and forgiven by the mercy of the Lord who forgives... Ahmed captain, son of Ahmed captain, son of Firdus-bey. Fatiha for his soul. 1188." (1774/75) (2)

Grave no. 22

            A grave with a richly moulded, massive open sarcophagus, with a height of 100 cm, length of 230 cm and width of 80 cm. There is a massive headstone on the sarcophagus, of octagonal section with sides 17 cm wide, topped by a lattice turban with a circumference of 200 cm. The height of the turban is 70 cm, and the overall height of the tombstone is 140 cm. The footstone is also octagonal in section, with sides 16 cm wide, and a height of 135 cm, topped with a cap of some kind. There is an epitaph on three sides of the octagonal headstone. The first part of the epitaph gives basic details of the deceased, in Arabic, in small thuluth script. It is partly damaged and reads as follows:

هذا القبر مير عبد الرحمن ..... فردوس زاده جعل الله تعالى ..... و لمن قرء لكل حرف .... سنة 1284

"This is the grave of Mir Abdurahman [.....] Firdusović. Almighty God did [........] and to anyone who prays for every harf [......] 1284." (1864/65) (3)

Beneath this is a longer text divided into eighteen fields on three sides of the tombstone, in Turkish verse, in very small nasta’liq Arabic script. Damage has left this text illegible.

Grave no. 23

            A grave with a high stone santrač, badly damaged, in a ruinous state, and without tombstones.

Grave no. 24

            A grave with a ruined stone santrač, without a headstone, and with a footstone that has fallen to the ground.

Grave no. 25

            A grave with a ruinous sarcophagus and tombstones that have fallen to the ground. The headstone has a woman’s cap, which is separate from it. From its appearance this tombstone might have belonged to the grave of Amina hanuma (lady) Firdus, whose epitaph is given by Mujezinović Mehmed in part III of his Islamic Epigraphics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, page 125(4).

 

3. Legal status to date

            The Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina of 1980(5)   lists the nisan tombstones of the Firduz burial ground in Livno as a Category I monument of national importance.

 

4. Research and conservation and restoration works  

            There is no information on such works.

 

5. Current condition of the property

            In May 2004, an on site inspection ascertained as follows: The burial ground is in very poor condition.  Most of the tombstones have been damaged or destroyed, though there is no evidence of the use of force.  Fragments of the tombstones lie in a heap at the centre of the burial ground.

 

III - CONCLUSION

           

            Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.

            The Decision was based on the following criteria:

A. Time frame

B. Historic value

C. Artistic and aesthetic value

C.i. quality of workmanship

C.ii. quality of materials

C.iii. proportions

C.iv. composition

C.v. value of details

C.vi. value of construction

D. Clarity

D.i. evidence of historical change

D.iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner

D.v. evidence of a typical way of life at a specific period

E. Symbolic value

E.i. ontological value

E.ii. religious value

E.iii. traditional value

E.iv. relation to rituals or ceremonies

E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people

F. Townscape/landscape value

F.i.  relation to other elements of the site

F.iii.  the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site

 

            The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-         Copy of cadastral plan

-         Copy of land register entry

-         Photo-documentation

-         Site plan

 

Bibliography

 

1980, Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Kapetanije u Bosni i Hercegovini (Captaincies in Bosnia and Herzegovina), Publisher Svjetlost, Sarajevo

 

1977, Mujezinović, Mehmed, Islamska epigrafija, Bosanska Krajina, zapadna Hercegovina (Islamic Epigraphics of BiH, volume III – Bosnian Krajina, Western Herzegovina), Publisher Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo

 

1957, Ćurić, Hamdija, Posljednji kapetani Livna Firdusi (The Last Livno Captains – Firduses), Almanac of the Country Museum, XII (new edition), pages 97 – 115

 

1953, Mujić, Muhamed, Stav livanjskog kapetana Firdusa prema pokretu Husejin-bega Gradaščevića i sultanovoj politici (Attitude of the Livno Firdus Captains towards Husein-bey Gradaščević’s Movement and the Sultan's Politics), POF III-IV, 1952-53, Publisher Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo 1953.                

           

 


(1) One of the Arabic words for paradise is firdaus, which has given the surname Firdus

(2) Ahmed-bey, the second Livno captain from the Firdus family, who held the post until his death. In 1760, he headed an army against Mostar together with other Bosnian captains. It was in his time that a Venetian subject, Stanko Sočivica, led the life of a brigand around Prolog, he and his gang, which included some Venetian soldiers, attacking caravans travelling from Split to Bosnia. Two such attacks were carried out during 1766. He was succeeded by his older son Ibrahim-bey.       

(3) Mir Abdurahman was the son of Ibrahim-bey Firdus, the last of the Livno captains, who died in Travnik in 1253 (1837/38). He was buried in the graveyard next to the Lončarica mosque.

(4) The epitaph on this tombstone as read by Mujezinović is as follows: "He (God) is the eternal Creator. Deceased and at peace, in divine mercy, Amina hanuma Firdus, daughter of Ali-pasha, former Herzegovina vali. For her soul, pray thou al-fatiha. 1258." (1286/87) 

(5) Regional plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, stage B – Valorization of Natural and Historical Values; Sarajevo, August 1980

 



Firduz cemeteryFirduz cemetery in LivnoSouth part of the cemeteryNišan tombstone no.2
Grave no.8Central patr of the cemeteryNišan Tombstones No.: 12, 13, 14 and 15Dual grave no. 17
Grave no. 19Grave of Kabur Mir Abdurahman FirdusovićGrave of Amina hanuma FirdusTombstone 21 – the oldest in cemetery, 1188 h. year (1774/75)
Tombstones from the book of Mehmed Mujezinović (Islamska epigrafika)North part of cemetery  


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